what does Framerate means and what setting do i have to use for normal dvd quality and wide-screen??

the size for my movies i want to make are about 1.5 Gb

The framerate is how many times in one second the screen is redrawn (frames per second or fps). The proper setting depends on how you plan to watch the movie (some mobile devices do not support normal framerates of 25-30 fps). For NTSC Region 1 DVDs you can set it to "Same as source" if you are watching on a TV or PC (29.97 fps normally). For PAL TVs in Europe and elsewhere the frame rate should be 25 fps, but the "Same as source" setting should produce the correct framerate with a PAL DVD. Choose the largest available screen size that matches the aspect ratio you need and adjust the video bitrate slider until you get a reading of at least 0.2 in the "bits/pixel" column. The file size may be slightly larger than 1.5 GB for some movies.

SORRY, i mean Frame Resolution......what that and witch setting are best for me in my situation

No problem! If you are going to watch in full screen mode on a PC or on a TV, then choose the largest one on the list (usually 640 or 720x480). Remember to watch the "bits/pixel" reading and keep it above 0.2 or higher using the video bitrate slider.

okay and thanx, but there is not resolution name 720x480?? read some where that maybe 704x400 is good????

It really depends on your source. Let's take a standard DVD for example:-

For PAL sources, I use 720 x 576 (4:3) and 720 x 400 (16:9)
For NTSC sources, I use 704 x 528 (4:3) and 704 x 400 (16:9)

Hi Bamoocha
If you use the Generic.avi.xvid Profile, it has many choices for the screen size. 768x432 (a widescreen ratio) looks pretty good full screen on a PC but the files may be a little larger than you wanted. Pirates of the Caribbean/World's End would come in at about 1.8 GB I think. 704x400 would probably be OK too. Experiment some with the settings on the Configure page to see what looks best to you.

Hi,
I am a little confused.
I am convering DVD to avi to store on a media player and play through a 68cm TV

I have converted many using 720x400 bits/pixel reading above 0.2 movie length about 1.6GB.

I did a test and made a movie 560x320 it reduced the size to 1GB and played beatifuly.

Please explain as I want to do more but am worried that they will be no good.

Cheers

If all you will ever do with these files is play them on a small screen, I think you will find that a much smaller screen size will produce fine results and much smaller files sizes. Make short test conversions of only a single chapter at different sizes and bitrates to see when the output starts to look less smooth and sharp or becomes blocky. Just keep the "bits/pixel" at a reasonable number and you will not be disappointed. The ones I make for my cellphone look OK at 0.12 or even less in some cases, but a larger screen will look better with a higher number. The 0.2 that I often suggest as a starting point is based on the results with my Archos 504 which has a 4.5", 480x270 screen.

The only way to find out what works for you is trial and error and that looks like what you are doing.

The resolution that you used should be fine on a 68cm TV but if you upgrade to a large plasma or LCD later, you may notice a distinct quality drop.

As a rule, I will never encode under the DVD specs which is 720 width for PAL or 704 for NTSC and I will never encode with a bitrate less than 1100.

DISKSPACE IS CHEAP !!!!

Futureproofing !!!!

fwiw : all my backups ( conversions really ) are to 'generic AVI' for use on a media server. Default bitrate is set to 1200 kbps. Typical output - they can and do vary - is a resolution of 768x432 and 0.15x bits per pixel ... filesize about 1.5 Gb ( depending on length of the flick )

Display on the laptop is fine in fullscreen, on the 40" Sony Bravia XBR it is acceptable for me, albeit at times a bit 'grainy', to use an old fotog term.

Thanks for the advise.
All my conversions are to 'generic AVI' for use on a media player.
I find that i cant change the volume as it is locked at same as source.
Is this normal.

Cheers

It always will be if you use generic.xvid.audiocopy profile as this profile maintains the original Dolby Digital soundtrack and this cannot be boosted.

If you use other audio profiles, such as MP3, you can boost the volume but only obtain stereo sound.